Baseline characteristics were similar among the groups, except more patients who responded to radiotherapy had a World Health Organization performance score of 0 to 2 compared with non-responders (96% vs 81%, respectively; P =.017).

SINS was not, however, associated with overall pain response (adjusted OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.81-1.10; P =.449). According to the authors, “this might indicate that this referral tool is not yet optimal for prediction of treatment outcome.”

The results of this study suggest that patients with a SINS of 6 or lower can be effectively treated with palliative spinal radiotherapy, but patients with a SINS 7 or greater will likely achieve only a partial response and should be referred to a spine surgeon.